


learning how to love

by euphorickiri



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Romantic Fluff, There's No Angst I Swear, evie is bold, maybe like for 2 seconds but not really, uma loses her shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/euphorickiri/pseuds/euphorickiri
Summary: “the more the merrier, right?” evie smiled brightly. “and it’s always nice to see you.”this girl was going to kill her.in other words: the 5 times evie shows uma affection, and the one time uma initiates it first.
Relationships: Ben & Mal (Disney: Descendants), Evie & Uma (Disney), Evie/Uma (Disney), Gil/Jay (Disney: Descendants), Harry Hook & Carlos de Vil, Jay & Uma (Disney), Mal & Uma (Disney), Uma & Carlos de Vil, Uma & Uma's Crew (Disney)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 54





	learning how to love

1.

Showing affection was a rarity on the Isle of the Lost. To villains, it was considered a weakness. Most things were. Being vulnerable wasn’t something Isle kids could afford to do, especially not around their parents. Uma’s mom was no exception. Ursula wasn’t exactly the nicest person. The closest thing she ever got to ‘motherly love’ was the yelling of orders at their family restaurant. Or the occasional tentacle attack if Uma ever got an order wrong. Even around Harry and Gil, her closest friends, she closed herself off. Pats on the back and high-fives were as close as they got. She was supposed to be their fearsome leader who was going to get them off the Isle. So that’s who she was. There was no room or time for being soft. 

Things were different in Auradon. 

Her first experience wasn’t exactly insightful. Everything went to shit the minute she jumped into the ocean during the Royal Cotillion and attacked. And her second experience wasn’t any better. Everyone was asleep thanks to Audrey. She couldn’t exactly get a good look at what type of place Auradon was. But she did see how it affected the other VKs. Specifically Mal and Jay. They were never the type of people to show any form of weakness. On the Isle, they wreaked havoc together. Uma barely recognized them now. They constantly sought each other out when they were stressed, hugging each other, or even holding hands. Carlos was more or less the same. He was more confident in himself and was never shy about being affectionate with his friends. And Evie…..

Evie was an enigma. 

Not much changed from when she was on the Isle. Even though she was seen as ‘stuck-up’ and ‘conceited” because of her mother’s reputation, Evie had always been nice. So much so that other Isle kids teased her for it. Especially Mal and Jay before they became friends. Uma herself was guilty of making fun of her too, but it always baffled her how Evie never got mad. She’s had a big heart for the longest time, even before she knew it. Out of everyone in Mal’s crew, she was the only one Uma could tolerate when they first started working together. Maybe that’s why she listened to Evie and didn’t drop Hades’ ember in the ocean. And why she didn’t completely turn away when she tried to get everyone to bond. Harry and Gil were shocked at her compliance and Uma pretended not to see the shocked looks on their faces. It was only because she respected Evie. That’s what she kept telling herself, at least. 

And then the big party happened after the Isle and Auradon united as one land.

Remember when she said Isle kids weren’t big on affection? Yeah.

Uma doesn’t even remember how she got into this situation. One minute she was dancing with Harry and the next Evie came along and joined them, unexpectedly bumping her hip against Uma’s. It only took a second before she freaked the hell out and moved away, her face heating up in embarrassment. 

“What the fuck was that??? Were you trying to knock me over??” Uma demanded. 

“No, I was just dancing with you,” Evie explained slowly. 

Uma flailed her arms wildly. “Dancing only involves jumping around! Whatever _that_ was wasn’t dancing!”

“Looked like some kind of attack to me,” Harry chimed in. 

Evie didn’t spare him a glance, keeping her eyes on Uma. “Go find Ben Harry. Heard he made fun of your hook.” 

That was all the teen needed to hear before he ran off. Yelling immediately followed a couple of seconds later, Ben running for his life as Harry chased him around. Uma felt nervous as Evie continued to stare at her silently, her eyes looking her up and down.

“You’ve never properly danced with someone, have you?” Evie asked gently. 

“There wasn’t time to get cozy and learn how to dance on the Isle. So no,” Uma deadpanned. 

Her breath hitched when Evie reached for her hand squeezing it gently after lacing their fingers together. “Well, there’s plenty of time now.”

Uma let the taller teen drag her along and tried to focus on dancing, but her gaze never wavered from their interlocked hands. 

2.

“Jay, for the _last time_ , I don’t know if Gil prefers daisies or roses. Honestly it won’t matter what type of flowers you give him. Or if you got him nothing at all! He’ll love anything you give or do for him.”

“Are you crazy??? ‘Nothing at all’??? I can’t _not_ show up with flowers! He set up a whole picnic for me! What kind of boyfriend would I be to show up empty-handed???”

If someone told Uma two years ago that she would be giving dating advice to Jay, she would’ve laughed in their face and threw them into the ocean. Back on the Isle, he was just as much as her enemy as Mal. And yet, here they were now, bickering like they’ve been friends for years. She never thought she would see the day. 

“I don’t think this is about you being a good boyfriend. You’re trying to one-up him,” Uma accused. “Both of you are ridiculously competitive by nature. Gil got you a cute pin and you got _promise rings_ the next day.”

Jay sputtered. “First of all, I already had the promise rings purchased before he gave me the pin.” Uma scoffed in disbelief. “Second of all, we’re not that competitive.” 

“So did I imagine you two angrily cuddling because you argued over who’s a better hugger?” Uma questioned with a smirk. 

A furious red blush spread across Jay’s face. He attempted to defend himself, growing more flustered when Uma continued to tease him. She was so focused on the other teen that she didn’t register an arm snaking around her shoulders until a familiar voice chimed in. 

“Don’t forget the fight they had at the dinner party Ben held last week,” Evie added. “Gil pulled his seat out for him and refused to let Jay do the same. It was adorable.”

Jay looked ready to disappear. “I hate you both.” 

Uma tried to stay focused on the conversation, but all she could think about was Evie’s arm around her shoulders. She was hyper-aware of how close they were, her brain short-circuiting when the taller teen rested her head on top of hers, pulling them even closer together. Under normal circumstances, she would’ve shoved away anyone who dared tried to get this close to her. Gil tried several times back on the Isle and almost lost his arms. But this wasn’t the Isle. And she wasn’t the same person she used to be.

That didn’t mean she would ever get used to _this_. 

“—right Uma?” Evie lifted her head and looked her in the eye. “I think it would be a good idea.”

“Y-yeah, sure. Whatever,” she replied quietly, her face heating up at their close proximity. 

“I take back what I said about hating you,” Jay said with a smile. “Okay, I’m going to go meet Gil. I’ll text you guys to give you the signal!”

He ran off and Uma blinked owlishly, realizing she didn’t know what she just agreed to. Evie watched her in amusement. “He wants us to get the biggest bouquet for Gil we can find. Preferably a mix of daisies and yellow roses.” 

“Is it too late to back out?”

“You and I both know the answer to that.”

Uma continued to protest but still pulled out her phone to find the nearest flower shop. Evie kept her arm around her shoulders the entire way there. 

3.

Uma won’t lie, she’s always had a soft spot for Carlos. 

He was one of the younger VKs and was often targeted by the other villain kids back on the Isle. It didn’t happen as often when he became friends with Mal, but it never really stopped. Harry had his own bone to pick with him for some reason he never explained to Uma. She never stepped in or intervened. Didn’t care much either. But if she yelled at Harry after a particularly bad encounter he had with Carlos or threatened a couple of villain kids who decided to take things too far, no one knew the real reason behind it except herself. Everyone knew how bad Cruella could be, and even if Uma didn’t want to admit it to herself in the past, she did kind of care. 

So now, when Carlos came barging into her room asking if she wanted to come with him to walk Dude, she couldn’t say no. 

“Do you always wait until it gets dark to walk Dude?” Uma asked, shivering because of how cold it was. “It’s not safe to walk through the woods alone.”

“If we survived being on the Isle for most of our lives, I think I can handle spending half an hour walking in the woods,” Carlos replied. “Besides, Dude likes walking under the stairs.”

“Fair enough,” Uma agreed. 

They kept walking in a peaceful silence, Uma hugging herself to keep warm. She didn’t expect it to be so cold tonight. It never got this bad on the Isle. Heat is what she was used to all year round, even in the winter. Summers could be excruciatingly hot but it was manageable once you got used to it. Being prepared for the cold wasn’t something she was used to doing. Carlos looked comfortable in his hoodie—which looked suspiciously familiar—already used to the weather in Auradon. Uma on the other hand was ready to head back inside. Before she could ask how much longer they would be outside, Dude stopped walking and started looking around frantically, his ears pointed up in alert. 

They froze at the sound of a stick snapping. Dude barked loudly at the sudden noise and the teens were on high alert. Just because they were on Auradon now doesn’t mean it was completely safe. Uma pushed Carlos slightly behind her, trying to find the source of the noise. Dude didn’t stop barking and managed to run away when the grip Carlos had on his leash loosened slightly. The bushes in front of them rustled and a familiar face walked out holding Dude in their arms. 

“Evie! You almost gave us a heart attack,” Carlos sighed in relief. “I thought you had that tutoring session with Doug?”

She handed Dude back to him. “We finished up earlier than I thought. I wanted to see if I could still catch up with you.” Uma almost stumbled when Evie noticed her. “Didn’t realize you had extra company.” 

Uma narrowed her eyes, immediately on the defense. “You have a problem with that?” 

“Not at all! The more the merrier, right?” Evie smiled brightly. “And it’s always nice to see you.” 

This girl was going to kill her. 

Carlos and Evie struck up a conversation and Uma trailed behind, occasionally chiming in. She reeled back when a cold gust of wind passed, rubbing her arms fiercely to generate some warmth. A coat suddenly being draped over her shoulders made her stop. Evie was adjusting it when Uma looked up, her face scrunched up in concentration. “Don’t worry, getting used to the cold here doesn’t take that much time. You can keep that jacket if you want though, I have more than enough.” 

She squeezed her shoulders and turned back around to continue her conversation with Carlos. Uma was stunned, walking at a slower pace than before. She made sure the other teens weren’t paying attention to her and buried her nose in the collar of the jacket, blushing when she recognized the scent of Evie’s signature perfume. Strawberries with a hint of something that just made Evie…. well, Evie. She zipped the jacket up and kept her face hidden in the collar, unaware of Carlos watching her with a knowing smirk on his face. 

4.

“A beach day?”

“More like a day at the enchanted lake,” Mal corrected. “Ben and I thought it would be fun if we all had a day to relax. School has been stressful and with all the negotiations going on between the Isle and Auradon, we haven’t had that much time to just chill out.” 

“What if I’m okay with staying in my room and being alone?” Uma challenged. 

Her relationship with Mal was… complicated to put it in simpler terms. They weren’t sworn enemies like they were back on the Isle, but they weren’t exactly best friends either. Uma was still mad about Mal lying to everyone. It cut deep. Just when she thought they were getting somewhere, Mal stabbed her in the back. _Again_. She was making up for it with the negotiations to situate all the villain kids in Auradon and Uma appreciated all the work she was putting into it, but it would take time before they would ever be that close again.

“Oh please. You never turn down an opportunity to go swimming,” Mal scoffed, calling her bluff. “Everyone is going and it won’t be as fun without you.”

“You sound so convincing,” Uma said sarcastically. 

Mal smirked, a knowing glint in her eyes. “I guess I’ll tell Evie you’re not coming. She was really hoping you could teach her how to swim. Maybe Doug could take your place. He had no complaints when I asked—”

Uma had her bag packed with seconds to spare. 

She hated how perceptive Mal could be. Of _course_ she fucking noticed how off she’s been around Evie lately. And it was only getting worse. Uma didn’t know how to handle it. Evie was the first person to ever make her feel whatever she was feeling, and she was at a loss on what to do. The one thing she did know for sure?

She didn’t want it to stop. And that terrified her. 

By the time Mal and Uma arrived at the enchanted lake, everyone else was already swimming. All except Evie who was watching everyone, waving at the teens when they approached. Uma tried to keep her cool at the sight of Evie wearing a bathing suit, but the blush on her face betrayed her. The taller teen seemed oblivious to her dilemma and grabbed her hands, pulling her towards the lake. “C’mon! If anyone is going to teach me how to swim, it has to be the expert.” 

“I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but if you insist,” Uma sighed, pretending to be annoyed.

She put her stuff down and pulled off her jacket—the one Evie gave to her but no one had to know that but her—and dived headfirst into the lake. Her friends cheered when she swam up to the surface. Evie clapped, her eyes sparkling. 

“Like I said: expert,” she reaffirmed. 

Uma splashed her playfully. “Get in here before I drag you in.” 

It only took a couple of minutes for Evie to get the hang of it. They swam together side-by-side, Evie constantly getting Uma’s attention to show off. There have been some pretty notably great moments in Uma’s life, but this took the cake. They eventually got out of the lake to dry off and eat the food Ben and Mal packed, Uma and Evie sitting right next to each other. 

“Before we go, there’s one last thing we have to do,” Ben declared, taking the last bite of his sandwich. “Harry, Gil and Uma have to jump off the cliff into the lake. It’s tradition.”

“I don’t do well with heights,” Gil said nervously. 

Jay nudged his shoulder. “I can do it with you if you want?” His boyfriend perked up. “Nevermind! I’m okay now!” 

“I’m okay to go alone,” Harry noted, stretching his arms. Uma nodded in agreement. 

With that, they made their way up towards the cliff. Jay and Gil went first, holding hands and screaming at the top of their lungs as they jumped. Harry went next, and being the show-off everyone knows he is, flipped off the cliff backwards. Uma shook her arms and legs out to get rid of her nerves, getting ready to jump. Someone whistling distracted her and she looked down, just to see Evie _winking_ at her. 

She tripped over her feet and ungracefully fell into the lake. 

If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, a pair of strong arms lifted her bridal style out of the water before she could swim up herself. Uma took a breath of fresh air and wrapped her arms around the person’s neck so she wouldn’t fall. Which she almost did when she saw Evie was the one holding her. 

“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly, her eyes scanning Uma for injuries. “That fall looked like it hurt.”

“Totally fine! Nothing to worry about!” Uma squeaked. “You can um… you can put me down.”

“She’s trying to be tough! I saw her foot hit the edge of the cliff when she fell!” Mal called out.

“Looked serious!” Carlos added. 

Uma glared at them over Evie’s shoulder for the obvious lies and they grinned, giving her a thumbs up. 

“I’ll just carry you back.” Evie walked out of the lake, bending down to grab their bags still holding Uma. “Wouldn’t want to risk making your foot worse.” 

Whatever protests the shorter teen had died down in her throat, shocked at how Evie was carrying her with ease. Was she seriously that light? But she couldn’t lie.

Being in Evie’s arms was definitely not something to complain about.

  
  


5.

Harry and Gil were playing a video game when Uma kicked their door open. They weren’t phased by her sudden intrusion and kept their focus on the video game, already used to Uma’s sudden visits to their dorm. 

“Everything okay?” Gil asked, whining when his character died.

“If everything was okay I wouldn’t be here right now!” Uma snapped, pacing around the room. 

Harry sighed and paused the video game, much to Gil’s annoyance. “What’s wrong?”

“That’s the problem! I don’t _know_ ,” Uma complained. “I’ve been trying to figure it out for _weeks_ and nothing is adding up!”

“You mean your crush on Evie?” Gil mentioned casually. Uma stopped pacing. Harry hit the blonde over the head for being so blunt. “You couldn’t have worded that better?”

“How else would I say it? It’s the truth!” Gil argued. 

“This is a new thing for her! You could’ve been a little more vague and let her figure it out!” Harry snapped, flicking his forehead. 

A tentative knock on the door—which was still open—cut their argument short and they were met with Carlos standing in the doorway holding Dude in his arms. Uma still hadn’t moved, trying to process Gil’s words.

“Is this a bad time?” he questioned. 

Harry stood up and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the room and closing the door. “Nope, perfect timing. We need someone who knows how to properly deal with emotions.”

“Hey! I’m in tune with my feelings!” Gil defended. 

“You? Sit down and text your boyfriend to complain.” The blonde did just that. Harry whirled around and pointed at Carlos. “And you? Fix this!” 

“At some point we need to talk about your fear of talking things out,” Carlos noted.

Harry nodded. “Exactly. ‘At some point’. Not today! Now do your thing—wait, is that my sweater?” Carlos shoved Dude in his arms, a slight blush on his face. “Not important! Go wait over there!”

Uma was already facing him when she turned around, realization setting in.

Uma had a crush on Evie.

_Uma_ had a crush on _Evie_.

She had a crush. Feelings towards another person. She wasn’t the heartless monster her mom always told her she was. 

_Holy shit._

“I can’t tell if you’re going to cry or pass out,” Carlos said honestly.

“Probably a mix of both,” Uma confirmed. 

There were very few things she was afraid of. She took it upon herself to be the strongest person she could be. For both her sake and the sake of her friends. But now, here she was, scared at the idea of having a crush. 

“Feelings can be scary. The most important thing is how you handle them,” Carlos explained gently. “Keeping them bottled up is not the best option, I’ll tell you that right now. But it’s up to you. All I can do is support your decision and be here to support you, even if I won’t completely agree. So, what do you want to do?” 

Surprisingly that answer came easily. Uma wanted to approach this as she did with anything else: tackle it head-on. 

She said a quick thank you to Carlos and bolted out the door, her heart racing in her chest as she got closer to Evie’s room. She took a minute to catch her breath once she reached her destination and knocked on the door before she could chicken out. Evie answered, her expression softening when she saw it was Uma. 

“Hey, what’s—”

“I like you.” Uma was taken back by the boldness of her own words, but once she started she couldn’t stop. “I like you a lot and I’ll be honest: it’s a weird feeling. I’m not used to the whole ‘being vulnerable’ thing and I never even thought I could be. Guess I was wrong because here I am! Opening up! I don’t even know when I started feeling this way. I can’t pinpoint if there was one moment between us that made me start seeing things differently or if there was always something there that kept building up to what I feel now. Either way, I just know I like being around you. And there’s no other person I feel like I can be myself with but you. So. Yeah. That’s it.” 

Silence.

Evie stared at her, an unreliable expression in her eyes. Uma’s heart sank in her chest and she cleared her throat awkwardly. “You know what? Forget I said anything. This was a bad idea.” 

A hand on her wrist stopped her from leaving. The grip tightened when Uma tried to pull away. She turned around to snap, only to be met with a pair of lips pressing gently against hers. 

Evie pulled away, cupping Uma’s face in her hands. “Did you seriously think I would turn you away?”

The shorter teen didn’t answer. She surged forward and kissed Evie, throwing her arms around the taller girl’s shoulders. Was it cheesy to say fireworks were going off in Uma’s head? Definitely. But was that exactly what was happening? Absolutely. 

And it was something Uma never wanted to forget.

+1

Evie groaned at the pile of work on her desk and leaned back in her seat, silently contemplating going to bed and worrying about everything tomorrow. Once realizing that was a terrible idea, Evie lightly slapped herself to get her head in the game and opened her laptop to get started. A key unlocking the door caught her attention and she smiled to herself, already knowing who it was. Uma, her girlfriend of 5 months, trudged in and put all her stuff near Evie’s bed.

“Hey,” she greeted. “Sword practice with Harry and Gil go well?” 

Evie received a tired grunt in reply. She stopped typing when Uma appeared behind her and turned her chair around. “You okay—”

The shorter teen pulled herself onto her lap, clinging to Evie like a koala. Uma buried her face in the crook of her neck and placed a kiss there, sighing in content. Evie blushed furiously, hugging her back. “Uma?”

“Don’t mind me. Continue with whatever you’re doing,” she mumbled. “Act like I’m not here.” 

Evie rolled her eyes fondly and kissed Uma’s forehead, getting back to work. And if Evie decided to leave some things for tomorrow so they could cuddle in bed? That was nobody’s business but their own.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! kudos/comments are greatly appreciated!!!
> 
> twitter: @IR8NHEART


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